The best thing about "American Pie 2" is that you get exactly what you are hoping for. In other words, if you liked the $100-million grossing
first instalment of this teen sex comedy franchise, then you can be pretty darn sure that you'll like the follow-up.

And hopefully, this sequel will snag a few new admirers too, because like number one, "American Pie 2" has something which a lot of similar comedies lack: heart. We rejoin the gang (yes, despite their 'fame', they are all back) after their first year of college, returning home to their old buddies.

A couple (exchange student Nadia (Elizabeth) and Heather (Suvari)) are still initially absent. But hey, not to worry, because the best characters are Jim
(Biggs), Stifler (Scott), Finch (Thomas), and Michelle
(Hannigan), all of whom end up at a snazzy beach house for the holidays.

Stupidity ensues, involving wee, superglue, and uncomfortably-placed trumpets, but writer Adam Herz has an uncanny knack of turning even the most predictable scenarios into slices of comedy magic. Much of this has to do with his actors, especially Scott as rambunctious prat Stifler and Eugene Levy as Jim's doting Dad. They may be doing this for the cash, but boy, don't they do it well.

Okay, it's idiotic, but combined with some genuinely touching moments between Jim and his old man and Hannigan as an unrequited geek (we finally get a glimpse of band camp), it is also a thoroughly enjoyable, 90-minute, laugh-out-loud comedy.